NEW YORK -- The ink on Bruce Arena's contract was barely dry when he walked into the Belamar hotel in Manhattan Beach, California, on the morning of Nov. 22. It was just 30 minutes after Arena signed on for a second stint as coach of the U.S. men's national team, but the former LA Galaxy boss literally showed up with a plan: a binder containing names of his player pool and a list of potential invitees to the Americans' year-opening January camp.

Mexico will hope to advance to the semifinals of the Confederations Cup next summer.

The importance of Paul Aguilar's stunning goal to win the CONCACAF Cup against the United States in October 2015 may have initially gone unnoticed wrapped up in the emotions of the rivalry, but now that the draw for next June's Confederations Cup has been made, its worth is very clear.

Mexico plays a lot of games -- 23 in 2015, 15 in 2016 and likely more than 20 in 2017 -- but not many have the competitive elements or hostile environment that coach Juan Carlos Osorio so desires. During 2016, Mexico...